Daughter of the Fallen

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

We all stared at Dwight. He had gotten on his knees like Rick said and was staring off into the distance.

"Look at me," Rick demanded softly. Dwight slowly obeyed him. "Why?"

"Because I want it stopped," he answered. "I want Negan dead."

I walked over and squatted in front of him. "Tell us why we should believe you. You killed one of our own. You helped Negan torture Daryl. You seem pretty team Negan to me."

"I stayed with Negan because that was what was safe," he told me. "It was the only option I had. But now I have others."

"If you want Negan dead," Rick interrupted. "Why don't you kill him?"

"It can't just be me. They're all Negan."

"That girl you murdered," Tara spoke up. "She had a name. Her name was Denise and she was a doctor. She helped people."

Dwight nodded. "I wasn't aiming for her."

Rick pulled me out of the way as Daryl lunged at Dwight, pinning him against the wall and holding a knife to his throat.

"Daryl," I said cautiously.

"Do it," Tara urged. "Do it."

"No," I rejected. "No, don't."

"You wanna end it this way," Dwight choked out. "You go ahead. I'm sorry. I am. I know you want to."

"Daryl, don't," I tried again.

"He could just be here to see if you were here," Rick pointed out.

"We can't trust him," Michonne agreed.

I crossed my arms, knowing that nothing else I said would make a difference.

"He owned me," Dwight claimed. "But not anymore. What I did, I was doing it for someone else. She just got away. So now I'm here. So are you because of her."

"Do it," Tara repeated, more urgent. I dig my fingernails into the palms of my hand.

"There's another choice."

"Daryl, you knew her."

"Negan trusts me. We work together, we can stop him. You knew me then, and you know me now. You know I'm not lying. I'm not."

Daryl hesitated.

"Do it," Tara urged once again. "Do it!"

I breathed a sigh of relief as Daryl lowered the knife.

Everything was silent for a moment.

"They have Sasha," Rosita spoke up, making my heart stop. "If she's even alive."

I whirled on her. "They what?!"

She winced. "It's a long story."

I digested what she said before shakily taking a step toward her. "You better hope, for your sake, that she's alive."

I stormed out of the room, not being able to believe everything that was going on.

•••

I was standing at the gate when I heard a voice.

"Hey." I recognized it to be Dwight.

I turned and tensed. "What?"

"It's Bree, right?"

Slowly, I nodded.

"I wanted to thank you for advocating for me. It means a lot."

I crossed my arms. "Advocating is a strong word." At his confused look, I continued. "We need all the people we can get. That's all. Don't push your luck."

He nodded. "I get it. Either way, thank you. Also, I'm sorry about Sasha. I really am. But don't go after her. You'll die."

I sighed and looked out beyond the gate. "All of us are gonna die at some point."

"But now isn't your time. Alexandria needs you as a leader."

As I watched him walk away, I could only think one thing.

Does it?

———
AN: sorry this chapter is short. i just wanna divide the ep up well